22oz. bomber purchased at Enoteca in Post Falls (at least I think so). According to the label, this is a "dark, double Alt." Intriguing.

Poured a cola-ish color that took on a mahogany shade when held up to the light. A good inch or so of a bubbly, beige head sat atop the beer. Lots of lace.

Fairly roasty and malty in the nose, with nary a whiff of hops.

Like the smell, there's not much to the taste besides the malts. There are some sweet, sugary malts, but they are more than balanced by some dark, roasty notes. In fact, this is quite a bit more bitter than any other Alt I've had. There is a slight, coffeeish flavor well in the background. Ends on a very slight hop bite.

Medium bodied, with a slightly prickly mouthfeel.

Not a bad beer, but it isn't a flavor bomb by any means. There are definitely better winter seasonals out there.

22oz bottle poured out into a big stein. Straight from Portland sent by homeboy GD via Jeff and Phyllis.

A: Dark chocolate brown with an eggshell white head that settles into a thick film.

S; Very malty as expected - pumpernickel or spiced raisin cake. Some earthy European hops are also slightly noticeable.

T: This is substantially more bitter than most alts I've had previously. Along with the sharp hops, there's chocolate and smoked malts, coffee, and some alcohol spice. Has some slight fruit characters, especially raisin, but they take a back seat to the hops and are most apparent in the finish.

M: Light to medium body, slightly sticky with full carbonation.

A little bitter, but overall, a well made beer that's easy to appreciate. Would love to have another bottle of this stuff.

This could very well be my first double dark alt. It's quite good.
Dark brown, nicely carbonated. The smell hints of hoppyness and roasted malt. Very smooth and balanced beer.
This bomber didn't last very long!
Another winner from Ninkasi and a nice way to treat yourself on a cold, grey winter night.

Smell: I sense a big roasted chocolately smell that is very pleasing. But I'm also detecting some kind of soured smell too. But this beer is definitely fresh. So I'm not sure where that sour smell comes from.

Taste: The first thing that I think of is a mixture between bread and crackers--It's got a lot of texture to it. It later moves into that big chocolate taste that was prevalent in the smell. The aftertaste is a little hoppy and citrusy. It's an interesting change in taste from beginning to end. The more this beer warms up the better it tastes.

Mouthful: It's almost like it's not in my mouth. Very absent in feel.

Drinkability: Not a bad drink. There isn't too much to it. Its kind of a let down for how dark and strong of a beer this is. But the alcohol and flavors mix well.

I spent this evening at my best friend Ryan's house recording vocals for a new rock & rock record we've been working on together. It just so happens that both Ryan & his wife are Armenians. It also just so happens that tonight is Armenian Christmas Eve and I happen to be in an Armenian Christmas mood. What better way to celebrate their holiday AND work on a rock record than with a bottle of what I can only imagine is a seasonal liquid tribute to the mighty rock group, Slayer.

It pours a heavy brown with deep shades of red
A warming aroma & thickish white head
And tastes like fresh fruitcake with cranberry and nuts
Leave Santa the cookies
'cause this ones for us.

This is an excellent, full-bodied beer, fairly balanced, interesting with good complexity.

Very dark copper-brown, it has a medium tan head steadily shrinking to a creamy thin top, then foamy ring and a little lace.

Aroma is dark caramelised, very toasty barley with dry leaves, hint of wood, very toasty and caramelly overall with hint of caramelised bacon.

Taste is a lot of toasted barley (singed, almost burnt), caramelised dry leaves and wood, black pepper. A burnt-pepper bitterness just dominates dark toffee sweetness at finish but backs off before becoming too bitter. Bitterness lingers with some hints of sweet, dark dried fruits and a light winey element. Bitterness is just a touch too assertive at end but it has good character and flavour. Feel is good, solid, not heavy.

Finally had a chance to open my growler of Sleigh'r which had apparently done 30 days in bourbon casks before I had gotten it. Very, very nice. It had been in the growler aging for about a month on a road trip to Albuquerque. Waiting for the right moment to open tonight in rainy Oregon. It poured with a lovely brown head, with the aroma of bourbon. Great mouth feel lots of maltiness from the bourbon and simple hopping and generous use of Munich and Vienna malts , a true double alt. I'd missed the regular Sleigh'r last year, but still remember the 2008. The added aging in whisky casks made this a truly wonderful surprise. A bit better than my keg of the great 2010.

Nose is light fruity esters, pleasant but mild Nose gives way to some nice smoke, light coffee and roasted malt.

Medium to full mouthfeel with nice balance and a light champagne carbonation.

Flavors start malty and quickly go to big bitter hop and a grapefruit bitter finish. Front sweet malty character and midpalate are nice but short and this one ends with a big and long lasting bitter finish. I get a nice double alt character to this with some roasted malts, hints of smoke and roasted coffee. I get no winter spice character at all.

Nice beer; not what I expected but very good albeit not real comlex. A bit of an identity crisis on this one. Smokey with coffee tones with food.

22oz bottle poured into a tulip glass. No freshness info. This bottle has been in my fridge for a month or so and I am just now getting to it. Pours a lovely light brown color with an inch of lumpy foam. Good lacing. Sweet malt on the nose with slight roasted notes and an herbal bitter quality. Hints of dark chocolate. Fairly full bodied with a nice, round mouthfeel. Good carbonation. Good drinkability for 7.2abv. The nutty taste of the roasted malt prevails all the way through to the finish. The bitterness that comes from the hops doesn't really complement the rest of the flavor profile. I don't think the style needs this much hop bitterness. They stayed true to the style but I feel like they upped the hops along with the alcohol and the result is too bitter. Not bad though. Something different but nothing great.

Poured from a big 22oz brown bottle into a glass. A dark chocolate brown, appears caramel colored and more transparent around the edges. Almost no foam in the pour, but it appears a few seconds later, maybe a third of an inch of brown stout foam.

Smell is not overpowering, but I can smell it from a foot away. Sweet like malted milk. Shortly after the pour, the smell fades away.

Very, very complex flavor. Starts a little bit sweet, quickly overwhelmed by an alcohol sting, which then transitions to increasingly more pronounced and more floral hops, leaving a hops-and-alcohol aftertaste. Some over-roasted barley underlies the whole thing. A+ for craftsmanship and complexity, but the flavors that end up dominating are not pleasant IMHO.

This beer demands to be sipped slowly - between the 7.2% ABV and the sharp hoppiness, you would not be well advised to consume in quantity. Mouthfeel is interesting between the alternating flavors, but so many sharp flavors predominate that this doesn't weigh in its favor in my rating.

This would be a fantastic beer for someone (for example, the one raving about it sitting next to me.) Just not for me.

Appearance pours a dark ruby brown with a thick off white head having good lace. Smell has a light roasted malt aroma. Taste of lightly roasted malts having a good balance with the hops ending in a light piney note. Mouthfeel is a heavy medium with good carbonation. Not a big or complex as expected, but still a simple easy drinking Alt ale.

Nice roasted malt/coffee smell. Taste is a little dry. You get a lot of the roast flavors, but not much else. Not a sweet beer, not a bitter beer, definitely a roasty beer.

Beer is medium Bodied, which leads to it being fairly drinkable. Roast flavor though asks for a little of your time between sips.

I'm not sure how to feel about this beer. Initially, this is my first experience with an alt (which I bravely will be brewing in the next few weeks). With a beer this dark I usually expect it to deliver a little more sweetness. It smells delightful, to be sure, but taste is simply roasty. If that is your bag then this beer will be awesome. I think it would be much improved if it had a bit more sweetness to it. Then again that may well just be the style.

Taste: Almost like a nut brown. Roasted malts... picking up on a touch of apple. Hoppy without it being overwhelming or the main focus of the beer. Hints of chocolate as it reaches the back of the tongue. Not as complex as I was hoping for.

Taste: the aroma comes through directly in the flavor here. Bready, biscuity malt and actually quite dry. Earthy hops are mild but provide a nice contrast and balance to the malt. Really, this tastes more like a nut brown ale to me, but it's not too bad.

Mouthfeel: medium to medium-light body with a decent level of carbonation. There's a nice creaminess here that I wasn't expecting, and which I really rather like.

Drinkability: this beer has a good feel to it, but I just can't get behind the dry, biscuity malt flavors -- they just don't turn my key. Still, a decently crafted brew.

Pours a nice crisp herbal, off-brown, cream white head. Interesting balance between malt and hops. It leans towards the sweeter side. This is a very malty, dark, herbed beverage. I feel like I'm drinking an extremely toned down shot of Fernet. The flavors remind me of winter. There's definitely a nice pine malt/hop bitterness to it that seems to be the main theme of this drink. Notes of pine and annis are definitely in your face. I've had a cookie that resembles the flavor of this beer. The mouthfeel is smooth and is easy to drink. The herbal notes are definitely not bad, but I think after one of these bottles, I'm good for a week or two. This is my third bottle in two months. It definitely makes you want drink it again, just not in a hurry. This is definitely one of the more unique holiday beers.